Workpiece holder



Nov. 26, 1946. F. H. HADLEY woRxPIECE HOLDER AFiled July s, 1944 2 sheets-sheet 2 al auf; s I afines-mammina Patented Nev. 26, )1946 Y. 2,411,790

l WoItKPIEoE HOLDER i Frank HenryHadley, Birmingham, England, assignor of one-half to Baron Cyril David Woolf,

Birmingham, England.

, Application July 8, 1944, Serial No. 544,083

In Great Britain October 22, 1943 5 Claims. (Cl. 81-38) 2 This invention has for its object to provide an placed in position, the operating member m is improved holder or jig whereby a plurality of caused to advance the slidable jaws 9' into conwork-pieces can be securely held simultaneously tact .with the work-pieces g. At first all the in a manufacturing operation. slidable jaws 7' may move simultaneously, but as l In the accompanying sheets of explanatory 5 soon as any one of them exerts a gripping action drawings: l t on its work-piece g it is arrested, but the others Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2 a .part are free to continue their movement (usually to sectional plan, and Figure 3 a sectional end a small extent) until all the work-pieces are elevation, of a work-piece holder constructed in securely gripped. This continued movement is accordance With the inVent0r1,"Flgl1re 3 being lo permitted by the above mentioned resilient means taken on the line 3-3 oi Figure 1. through which motion is imparted from the. oper- Figures 4 and 5 are respectively a sectional side ating member m to the slidable jaws y'. elevation'and a part sectional plan illustrating To enable the required movement to be transa modied form of the invention. mitted lfrom the operating member mv to the vIn carrying the invention intoY effect as shown 1.3 idable jaws 7 I secure to each of these jaws al irl Figures 1 t0 3, I employ a cast iron or other stem q whichis slidably supported in a bore 1" base a Which iS formed at its upper side with a in the block z', and which at the end remote pair of parallel `guides b havingundercut inner fromy the associated jaw has formed on or secured sides. At one end of the guides vl) 'there iS to ita hollow cylindrical thrust piece s, the latter. mounted Orl the base lll` a metal blOCk C Which g() having a, tapered outer end which is split s0 that is slidably adjustable between the guides and iS it is contractible. Also I form inone side oi the Securable byy SCIeWS d 0r `Otller means at any operating member m a plurality, of conical redesired position on the base.V v On the blOCk C iS cesses t adapted respectively to receive the secured a stationary jaw e; one side 0f which tapered and split ends` ot the thrust-pieces s. iS formed With a plurality 0f V 01 other IlOtCheS 25 Moreover, around each stem ql at the inner end f fOr loeatrle the Work-DeCeS Q- lllterrlativell7 of its thrust piece s' I arrange in the correspondthe stationary jaw" may be formed by a number ing bore r in the block i a, helical spring l which 0f Separate pieces each formed With a rlOtCh serves to retract the associated jaw i when the and allsecured together on the block in fixed Gperating member m is re1eased by the cam n relation. Also ron the base a and between the 30 or other means, the Spring being supported at guides b is adiustably Secured by Screws h 0r the end remote from the thrust piece by a other means f another metal block i carrying at shoulder u in the said bore, and being adapted to the end adJ'aCerlt t0 the Stationary llaW e a Pluralact onr the inner end of the thrust piece. On ity of jaws i, the latter being slidable relatively advancing the operai-,ing member m, it Simultaneto each other and to their supporting block. Each 3 ously advances all the jaws i, but as vsoon as 0f the Sldabe jaWS i' iS formed With a V 0r each of the latter is arrested by the coresponding other nOtCh le, and theseV notches OCCUPY POS- work-piece g continued action of the operating tions respectively Opposite t0 the IlOtCheS in member` causes the split-tapered end of the thev stationary jaW e.- thrust piece to be contracted, and this enables Near the end ofthe block i remote from the Lio'the operating member to cause each jaw to exert Sldable jaWS il', there iS slidably VIrlOllIlted between Y an eiiective grip on its work-piece. It will be the guides b on the base a, a cross bar m serving seen, therefore, that the thrust pieces s serve,l as an operating member.` lThis operating memby virtue of their contractible ends, as the above ber m S mCVable by any conVerlerlt means, Such mentioned resilient means through which motion as a cam n pvotally supported 0n a horizontal l5 is imparted from the operating member m to the axis by fa bearing o adjustably secured to the slidable jaws 9'.

base a, the cam being adapted to act on the side A5 shown, the screws d, it employed for se- I of the operating member remote from the block i, curing the blocks c, i to the base a, pass through and beine provided with an actuating arm p. one of the guides b and act on the adjacent sides Alternatively the Operating member m may be 50 of the blocks through the medium of a pressure movableby a'screw, Wedge or the like. Motion piece o.

is imparted from the operating member m to the Y j Instead of being formed by the thrust pieces s, individual slidable jaws 0' through any cone the resilient means above mentioned may have venient resilient means such as that hereinafter the form exemplie'd in Figures 4 and 5 in which described. After the Work-pieces g have been V55 the parts similar or analogous to those above derelatively scribed are indicated by the same reference characters suixed by 1. In this example the thrust pieces s1 (which may be of solid form) and the stems q1 are separate from each other and are slidably supported in coaxial relationship by opposite ends of the corresponding bores r1 in the block i1, the stems being loaded by the springs t1 which serve to retract the slidable jaws ril. Also the adjacent endsof the thrust pieces s1 and stems q1 are hel-d in spaced relationship by helical springs w1 which are situated between the said ends in the bores r1, and which form the aforesaid resilient means, the arrangement being such that when movement of any of the jaws 71 under the action of the operating member m1 is arrested by the corresponding work-piece g1, the associated spring w1 is compressed by the continued action of the operating member, and this enables the operating member to cause each jaw il to exert an eiective .Moreoveig the block c1 e1 is secured to the base through holes in the base, and the block i1 carrying the movable jaws :il is adjustably secured to the base by screws h1 passing through slots x1 in the base, the guides provided for these blocks in the previously described example being dispensed with. Further, the operating member m1 is secured to and carried by adjacent ends of a pair of parallel rods y1 which pass through holes in and are slidably supported by the block c1 carrying the fixed jaw el, the other ends of the rods being interconnected by a cross bar al cairying the cam nl, The latter is rotatable about a vertical axis by'an' actuating arm p1, and is adapted by co-operation with the adjacent side of the block c1 to impart movement through the operating member m1, thrust pieces s1, springs w1, and stems q1, to the slidable jaws 71. At a position beneath the jaws i1 thev base is formed with a transverse slot 21, and beneath this slot there is arranged a parallel bar 31 carrying adjustable abutments 41 for the work-pieces y1, these abutments having the form of vertical pegs in screw thread engagement with the said bar, and the latter being adjustably secured to the base al, by screws 51 passing through slots 61 in the base.

In' other respects the example shown in Figures 4 and 5 is essentially similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 3.

The invention is not, however, limited to the examples above described as subordinate details of construction may be varied. to suit diierent requirements. Further, I may duplicate the gripping means in either of the examples above described by mounting two sets of separately slidable jaws on the same base, and arranging for these to be actuated simultaneously from a cornmon source of motion.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A work-piece holder comprising the combination of a base, a stationary jaw provided on the base and to form an abutment for a plurality of work-pieces, a plurality of separate vand slidable jaws adapted to co-operate carrying the fixed jaw a1 by screws d1 passing grip on its work-piece.

, the stems 4 with the stationary jaw for securing the workpieces, a stationary support provided on the base and slidably supporting the slidable jaws; an operating member for advancing all the slidable jaws towards the stationary jaw, springs arranged to bear against the said support and act on the slidable jaws for retracting the slidable jaws, and resilient means through which simultaneous and independent movements can be transmitted from the said member to the slidable jaws.

2. A work-piece holder as claimed in claim 1 and having arranged between the slidable jaws and the operating member, stems secured to the slidable jaws, and thrust pieces on the ends of remote from the slidable jaws, the thrust pieces having contractible outer ends and serving as the resilient means through which movements can be transmitted from the operating member to the slidable jaws, and the operating member having recesses whereby the outer ends of the thrust pieces can be contracted when movements of the corresponding slidable jaws by the operating member are obstructed.

3. A work-piece holder as claimed in claim 1 and having arranged between the slidable jaws and the operating member, stems secured to the slidable jaws, thrust pieces arranged coaxially withA and spaced from the outer ends of the stems, and springs arranged between the adjacent ends of the stems and thrust pieces and serving as the resilient means through which movements can be transmitted from the operating member to the slidable jaws, the operating member being adapted to act on the slidable jaws through jthe medium oi the thrust pieces, springs, and stems.

Y 4. A work-piece holder as claimed in claim 1 and having arranged between the slidable jaws and the operating member, stems secured to the slidable jaws, and thrust pieces on the ends of the stems remote from the slidable jaws, the thrust pieces having contractible outer ends and serving as the resilient means through which movements can be transmitted from the operating member to the slidable jaws; the operating the operating member are obstructed,'and the stems having combined therewith the springs for retracting the slidable jaws after the latter have been moved by the operating member.

5. A work-piece holder as claimed in claim l slidable jaws, thrust pieces arranged coaxially with and spaced from the outer ends of the stems, and springs arranged between the adjacent ends ofv t e stems and thrust latter have been moved by the operating member.

- FRANK HENRY HADLEY.V 

